Dominican Community

Our Parish's Dominican Heritage

St. Gertrude Catholic Church has been staffed by the Dominican Friars of the Eastern Province (St. Joseph) for more than seventy years. The Order of Preachers (O.P.) was founded by St. Dominic in 1216. The first Catholic church in Ohio was founded in Somerset in 1818 by Dominican Father Edward Dominic Fenwick, O.P., who was later appointed the first bishop of Cincinnati in 1821. The Dominican community at St. Gertrude priory includes Priests and Novice Brothers. The novitiate, or first year for those entering the Eastern Province of Dominicans, is situated at the priory.

St. Gertrude School is staffed by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecelia of Nashville, Tennessee. They were founded in 1860 from St. Mary's of the Springs in Columbus, Ohio. The Sisters arrived in 1929 when the school opened. St. Gertrude is a truly unique community in its richness of having both the Dominican Friars and Sisters.We are working on local content, but in the meantime visit the web page for the Dominican Friars of the Eastern Province.

Vocations to the Dominican Life

Dominican Third Order (lay) Chapters

The Dominican Third Order is a fraternal organization of Catholic
laymen and women who have chosen to live a Dominican way of life. Anyone who would like to learn more about this opportunity can reach out to either of the two Dominican Third Order Chapters that are based at St. Gertrude. They are: